US-Russian Deal on Syrian Ceasefire to Address Conflict – German President

Date of publication: 12 07 2017, 14:41

Russian and US presidents’ agreements on Syrian ceasefire will mark the beginning of the peace settlement in the region, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump’s agreements on introducing a ceasefire in southern Syria may once and for all begin the process of resolving the nation’s raging conflict, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Wednesday.

“During the conversation, we have discussed in detail that we hope for the agreements reached between Putin and Trump on the locally restricted ceasefire not to become the end of the consent of the Syrian conflict but to become the start of the conflict settlement and finding the solution to this conflict,” Steinmeier said.

The southwestern Syria ceasefire entered into force at noon Damascus time (09:00 GMT) on Sunday. This decision was made by Trump and Putin during their first face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the German city of Hamburg on July 7.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said Monday that the organization regarded the ceasefire as “a significant step forward” and as possessing all chances for implementation.

Syria has been in the grip of a civil war for six years over six years. Government forces fight against Syrian opposition groups who strive to overthrow President Bashar Assad, as well as numerous extremist and terrorist groups such as IS and Jabhat Fatah al Sham, both of which are outlawed in Russia.